Oceans For Emotions: Overcoming trials leads to triumphs

June 10, 2011 at 1:10 a.m.

By Elaine Wheat

The preparation of the heart of man is from the Lord.

- Proverbs 16:1

While my youngest son, Brad, was telling me about the personal charter boat fishing trip he took, where all he had to do was board the boat and everything else was taken care of for him, but the catching of trout, I was thinking about how we had used to fish together 40 years before "The Good Times Rolled."

My youngest son and I were wade fishing off the beach front at Port Aransas at low tide. We had waded out to stand on the second sandbar, so that we could cast into the deeper third gut, and we were doing pretty well. Soon, we noticed the stringer swinging toward the beach and mentioned to each other the tide had started to come in. The fish kept biting, tide kept rising and we kept fishing till the waves were knocking us backward with each cast.

Being a good fishing mother, but not a very careful one, I told Brad that we had better head back in to at least the first sandbar or the beach itself. He looked at me as we turned to go in and said, "Mom, don't panic, but I can't touch bottom." Only one command came out of my mouth and that was, "Swim, I can't touch either, and hang on to your rod with the Ambassadeur reel."

I was a certified water safety instructor, life guard and mother, and I should have dropped everything and gone to save him. I remembered one thing: I had taught him two important things - how to swim, and if he lost an Ambassadeur reel, I was going to drown him.

We side stroked it in with the rod and reels held high out of the water and finally got to the beach. The tide had carried us down the shoreline for about a half mile, and we had to walk back to the car, dragging selves and the things we loved.

Sure, that love has been tested many times in the past 50 years, but I always go back to the high tide at Port A and know that there is a bond between us that is strung together from fear and faith. That day prepared us for life.

Dear Lord, when we face our trials, help us to realize that they will be our triumphs when we overcome them with Your help.